Jun. 01, 2021
Dear SEC Rule Comments, I am a long-term investor, managing multiple millions in retirement and trust accounts for my family. I am also concerned about investing in my children's and grandchildren's futures and thus about climate change. Given the current levels of disclosure about the actions and investments of both corporate entities and their management teams, I really cannot make informed decisions about trading off ROI for reduced emissions or other environmental impacts -- or even if I have to accept reduced ROI for those environmental externalities. The Securities and Exchange Commission should require that corporate managers be more transparent with shareholders regarding their long-term plans. When I think about where to invest my money, I want to know which companies are serious about a just, green future. It is the SEC’s job to keep corporations from hiding their contribution to the climate crisis and environmental destruction or from lying to the public about their role. Corporations should be required to be honest about what they’re doing to stop climate change and how they are planning for a future affected by an accelerating climate crisis. Managers should also be expected to disclose to shareholders if their company is playing in politics. A company could face significant litigation risk if it says one thing about its climate commitments in public, but in the background, it lobbies to upend efforts to address the climate crisis or otherwise acts ion ways that exacerbate emissions problems. Beyond climate-related issues, companies should also have to be clear about other material issues like whether their hiring practices genuinely aim to increase diversity and representation on their board, in what countries they pay taxes, how they treat their workforce, and what their human rights impacts are. Shareholders and the public have a right to be informed of these sorts of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and we call upon the SEC to require clear, standardized, and trustworthy information on these topics from all companies. Thank you for considering my comment. Sincerely, Peter Meyer